The film centers on 14 year-old Susie, who was murdered in 1973. Following her death, she continues to watch over her family, while her killer remains at large. Susie finds she must choose between her desire for vengeance and her yearning to see her loved ones heal and move on. Narrated from beyond the grave, the story offers a unique and very personal take on the notion of the afterlife. It is a tale about death that is filled with unexpected light, beauty and hope. The inherently grisly aspects of the murder have not been included - they did not need to be. That said, the ending was a bit of a disappointment, but overall a well designed film. Recommended.

Presented 2.35:1, 16x9 enhanced. The standard NTSC R1 DVD has 5.1 surround audio in English, French or Spanish with optional subtitles in English, French, Spanish or none. The only extras are a couple of unrelated trailers. It is selling for about $20us, $35au, $40nz. The standard PAL R4 DVD has 5.1 dolby digital English with optional English subtitles. As of 5 May, 2010, I have not been able to confirm any other language tracks on the R4 disc. The UK R2 release is only in English with optional English subtitles. However it contains extras of: Commentary track by Peter Jackson; an alternate ending; a "Behind the Scenes" clip and outtakes.

The Blu-ray release is a 2-disc set in North America and Australia/NZ, with the feature 1080p on one disc with DTS-HD English 5.1 or dolby digital 5.1 French or Spanish or Portugese language track options. Additionally there are subtitle options of English, French, Portuguese, Spanish or none with the North American version but only English and None with the AU/NZ version. The second disc has about 177 minutes of "Filming 'The Lovely Bones'", which is divided into three segments: U.S. Principal Photography - 88 minutes, NZ Principal Photography - 60 minutes and Visual Effects Photography - 30 minutes. There is also a 1+ minute Introduction by Peter Jackson. The second disc sound and subtitle options are the same as with the feature, listed previously. It is selling for about $30us, $40au, $45nz. There are single disc versions that does not, therefore, contain the 177 minute extras, but do have a English audio commentary track. Most of these single disc versions are available in Europe and therefore contain dialogue tracks for English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and subtitle options in English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish.